A Friendly Competition
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: When Sofia seems a little down after school one day, both Roland and Cedric pull out all the stops to try to cheer up their princess. (Requested by allyrwhitney)


A Friendly Competition

Summary: When Sofia seems a little down after school one day, both Roland and Cedric pull out all the stops to try to cheer up their princess. (Requested by allyrwhitney)

Disclaimer: I own nothing! 😊

A/N: Yes, I know. Poor Sofia has been down a lot recently in my stories. Lol. Don't worry—she'll be cheering up soon! And this is an opportunity for Cedric and Roland to bond a bit more, all while trying to help out the glue that holds them all together. 😉 In all honesty, I think it's about time. She does so much for everyone else, so it's nice to see others returning the favor! Enjoy!

*Story*

It was the third heavy sigh that caught the attention of both the king and queen, who took notice of their youngest daughter lying haphazardly in her throne. The moment she'd gotten home from school, they had noticed her tired and somewhat melancholy mood, but Miranda had advised against mentioning it. After all, knowing Sofia, she would only say that nothing was wrong, and that would be that. However, both knew better.

Amber and James were sitting on their own thrones, excitedly discussing an upcoming field trip the fairies were taking them on, so they didn't seem to notice that their sister seemed to be down.

Roland gave his wife a kind smile before standing up and walking over to the other side of the youngest royal's throne, sitting down next to her and gently nudging her into alertness. "Did you have a good day at school?" he asked.

"Mm…" With that, she lowered her head into her arms, whining a bit as her hair covered her face.

"That bad, huh?"

Sofia sighed and sat up, brushing her hair back. "Two projects, three tests, and five new potions to learn before the end of next week, Dad," she explained, a look of misery painted on her face. "I've been studying and working nonstop. I barely have time to take for myself." Clearly, there was also Protector duty, but she wasn't about to get into that right now.

Roland nodded in the twins' direction. "They take many of the same classes you do. They don't seem nearly as stressed."

"We handle stress differently. James usually holds off till the last minute then has a cram study session with his friends and gets Desmond to help him with the projects, and Amber…" She shrugged. "Amber studies as much as I do but doesn't let it stress her out as much."

"I see." He tapped her arm thoughtfully. "I think it's time you had a little fun, Sofia."

Her blue eyes lightened momentarily before dimming a bit. "I don't really have time for fun, Dad."

"That's silly, Sofia. Of course you have time for fun." He stood and offered her his hand, which she took with a happy smile. "All right, everyone. We'll be back in a little while."

"That's fine, Daddy," Amber responded. "James and I have to get ready for our field trip tomorrow anyway." She grabbed her brother's arm and tugged him out of the room, squealing with excitement about the adventures they were sure to have.

Miranda chuckled as she stood and placed her hands on her hips. "Got plans, you two?"

"Something like that." Roland kissed his wife on the cheek before resuming his trek with Sofia, guiding her out of the throne room. "I think maybe we should start with—"

"Oh, King Roland, _there_ you are!"

Roland looked up and noticed Cedric approaching them. "Cedric?"

"I have that potion you requested." He offered the jar to the king, who gratefully accepted it. He then glanced down toward his apprentice, whom he noticed looked a little distant. "Are you all right, my dear?"

Sofia looked up at her mentor with a pathetic pout. "I think I'm stressed, Mr. Cedric…"

"Aww. Well, if you'd like a break from schoolwork, there is that game of chess you and I never got around to finishing."

The king cleared his throat. "Actually, I was about to help take her mind off of everything with a game of Dazzleball."

Sofia smiled brightly. "Really? Dazzleball?" She then glanced toward Cedric, who seemed a bit dismayed. "Dad, can Mr. Cedric play with us? I remember you guys talking about how you enjoyed playing together when you were younger."

The fair-haired man glanced toward his employee/recently-rediscovered friend and nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Really, Your Majesty?" Cedric smiled brightly. "I greatly appreciate it." He placed a hand on Sofia's shoulder. "Not to worry, Sofia. You'll be feeling better in no time."

The princess laughed. "Can't wait! Maybe you guys can teach me that move of yours. What's it called?"

The sorcerer grinned. "The Royal Ricochet! Now also known as a tree-bouncing maneuver for returning my wand safe and sound to me."

Roland smiled proudly and playfully blew on his nails before brushing them against his coat. "All in a day's work."

Sofia smiled before excusing herself to change into some outdoor clothing while they set everything up outside. As she did so, she couldn't help pondering over how much had changed between her dad and her mentor the last few weeks. They'd come to respect each other more and even open up a tiny bit to each other, which was surprising. Granted, Cedric was still relatively guarded, as she expected him to be, but she couldn't be happier with the effort they'd both put into their newfound friendship at this point in their lives. It was pleasant to see.

She chose a dark purple outfit similar to her Protector outfit minus the cape (Seriously, who needed a cape in Dazzleball?) before brushing her hair into a ponytail. With one final glance in the mirror, she nodded before hurrying outside.

Cedric grabbed one of the balls from the sports shelf on the side of the field before turning to Roland. "I think we may have a problem, King Roland."

"What's that?" Roland asked distractedly as he set his coat aside before rolling his sleeves up to his elbows.

"Wouldn't we need another person to have a proper team? Otherwise, it would just be the three of us, and it will be one versus two, and that won't be very fair for a competition of sorts."

The king chuckled before glancing toward the sorcerer. "Cedric, that's not the point. The point is to take Sofia's mind off whatever is worrying her. She rarely takes time to have fun anymore, and we can put a stop to that." He gestured loosely. "The only time she seems to enjoy herself these days is when she spends time learning magic with you. That's what makes her happy."

Cedric smiled appreciatively. "Well… I'm sure she enjoys spending time with you, too."

"Every now and then, yes. However, _I_ am constantly working and rarely have time to take out of the day to spend with her—or any of the children, really. I'm just glad they are mature enough to understand, or that they can entertain themselves somehow."

"Yes…" Never mind that the few times the children had decided to 'entertain themselves,' James had gotten turned into a baby, or other random scenarios had occurred. Then again, he digressed. The king was right. Right now was about Sofia.

"I'm here!" Sofia announced excitedly as she hurried over to the king and sorcerer. "And I'm ready to play!" She glanced between them. "So… We're not going to do teams, right? I just want to play; I don't want to choose between the two of you."

"That's the plan," Roland agreed. "Besides, if we _did_ choose teams, who's to say it wouldn't be Cedric and me versus you?"

Sofia laughed as Cedric blinked in surprise. "Oh, _that_ would be funny. I wouldn't stand a chance against that Ridiculous Ricochet."

" _Royal_ Ricochet, thank you," Cedric corrected with a smirk as she snickered.

"Right, sorry." She grabbed the Dazzleball from Cedric's hands and giggled, taking off running.

The sorcerer blinked in surprise before grinning and running after her. "Hey! No fair!"

Roland grinned at the action. "After that princess!"

A good hour of playing their game seemed to be just what the trio needed. Not only did it relax Sofia, but it also got her father and friend to ease up a bit more than usual. They hurried up and down the field, kicking or throwing the two variations of the balls or tossing the frisbee back and forth. In truth, it was the most fun any of them had experienced in a good number of weeks.

"Phew," Sofia sighed with a laugh as she wiped her forehead off by the time they'd stopped. "Oh, wow, that was great!"

"So who won exactly?" Cedric breathed as he held his hands to his knees.

Roland laughed as he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I suppose in a way, we all won…some free time, right?"

Sofia grinned and hugged her dad. "That's so corny, but I love you anyway." She kissed his cheek. "Thanks for cheering me up." She then hurried up to Cedric, who was caught off guard as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She giggled as he wrapped his arms around her in return. "Thank you too, Mr. Cedric," she murmured softly.

"Any time, Sofia," he responded before lowering her to the ground again.

Roland walked up next to Cedric as Sofia waved at them and bid them goodbye, heading back inside. He placed a hand on the sorcerer's shoulder. "Nice job, Cedric. It's going to take all of us to keep that girl out of her own head."

Cedric chuckled and nodded. "Agreed, Your Majesty. I'll do what I can to make sure all is well for the princess."

With that said, they returned to the castle, each in better spirits than before.

The end


End file.
